The Descent of Man

Character Guide

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Charles Darwin (The author/narrator)

The naturalist author, who presents years of collected notes arguing that man descended from an earlier, lower form of life, building on ideas from his earlier work 'On the Origin of Species'.

Carl Vogt

A naturalist quoted early on as President of the National Institution of Geneva, cited as evidence that scientific opinion had shifted toward accepting evolutionary descent of species.

Professor Bischoff

A anatomist whose claims about ape and human brain structure are examined and disputed as Darwin discusses comparative anatomy of primates.

St. George Mivart (Mr. Mivart)

A naturalist referenced for his classification scheme of primates (Hominidae, Simiadae, Cebidae, Hapalidae), used to situate man among the Old World apes.

Jenner Weir (Mr. Jenner Weir)

An ornithologist whose careful observations of bird breeding habits are cited as supporting evidence for the mechanics of sexual selection.

Hermann Müller

A naturalist cited for his study applying Darwinian theory to bees, used as a comparative example for selection processes.

Von Nathusius

A breeder referenced for the idea that animal breeders unconsciously impress their own taste and judgment onto the animals they raise over generations.

M. Gaudry

A paleontologist whose fossil discoveries in Attica (Miocene period) are cited as evidence connecting different monkey genera and illustrating primate lineage.

Glossary

Sexual selection

Darwin's proposed evolutionary mechanism, distinct from natural selection, where traits evolve because they help individuals compete for or attract mates, rather than aiding survival.

Secondary sexual characters

Physical traits that differ between males and females of a species (like size, coloration, ornamentation) not directly tied to reproduction itself, thought to arise via sexual selection.

Catarrhine / Platyrrhine

Darwin's era classification dividing Old World monkeys (Catarrhine, with narrow downward nostrils) from New World monkeys (Platyrrhine, with wider nostrils), used to trace human ancestry to the Old World branch.

Quadrumana

An old zoological term meaning 'four-handed,' historically used for monkeys and apes, treating their hind feet as grasping 'hands' like their front ones.

Simiadae

An older taxonomic family name grouping monkeys and apes, used throughout the book when discussing primate classification and human affinities.

Unconscious selection

Darwin's term for how breeders (or, analogously, human societies) gradually shape a species' traits over generations through repeated preference, without deliberately intending the eventual outcome.

Law of battle

Darwin's phrase for direct physical combat between males over access to females, a driving force behind evolved size, strength, and weapons like horns or antlers.

Tapu

A Polynesian (Maori) term, cited from New Zealand, describing a person or thing set apart as sacred or reserved, used by Darwin to illustrate how chiefs claimed exclusive rights to attractive women.

Rudimentary structures

Vestigial bodily features (like certain muscles or bones) that appear to have lost their original function, used by Darwin as evidence of shared ancestry between humans and other animals.

Correlated variation

The phenomenon where a change in one bodily trait tends to bring about related changes in other traits, used to explain patterns in inherited physical characteristics.

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